compensatory lengthening

English
WOTD – 2 February 2022

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kɒmpɛnˈseɪtəɹi ˈlɛŋ(k)θ(ə)nɪŋ/, /kɒmˈpɛnsətəɹi-/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /kəmˈpɛnsəˌtɔɹi ˈlɛŋ(k)θənɪŋ/
  • Hyphenation: com‧pen‧sat‧o‧ry length‧en‧ing

Noun

compensatory lengthening (countable and uncountable, plural compensatory lengthenings)

Example

In many non-rhotic British dialects of English, the /ɹ/ from art (/ɑɹt/) is dropped but the /ɑ/ is compensatorily lengthened, resulting in /ɑːt/.

  1. (phonology, uncountable) The lengthening of a vowel sound which occurs when a following consonant is lost, regarded as an extreme form of fusion; (countable) an instance of this.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading
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